Experiencing the Culture of Rwanda

A human rights course combines online learning and first-hand experience as they
learn about the culture of Rwanda by traveling to the country

ST. LOUIS, July 1, 2013 – Rwanda is known as the “land of a thousand hills” but for
many people, the beautiful landscape is not the first thing that comes to mind when
they think of the country.

Melissa George, an international human rights major at Webster University, is one
of seven students who traveled to Rwanda as part of the Human Rights Area Studies
course offered at Webster University.

“I am sad to say that I only knew Rwanda for genocide before this class,” said George.
“No country should be known for genocide, there is always so much more to the people
and the culture.”

Educating students about the culture and people of Rwanda are goals of the course.
Elizabeth Sausele, an adjunct faculty member at Webster University, did her dissertation
research in Rwanda and is committed to giving students experiences in the developing
world.

“It is my deep conviction that in order to engage in effective human rights intervention
and activism, it is critical for people to understand culture,” said Sausele. “To
not understand culture and not work within different cultures is dangerous and you
end up running the risk of re-traumatizing populations that have already suffered
human rights abuse.”

This is the second year that the course has been offered at Webster University. It
combines online learning with a trip to Rwanda. For eight weeks, students study the
history and culture of Rwanda, learning about pre-colonial history, genocide and also
the current political climate of the country. This online course is a pre-requisite
to the two-week travel portion. The course is co-taught by Sausele and Lindsey Kingston.
Webster alumnus and Rwandan national John Munyaguramba served as a translator during
the trip.

“The online class helped us prepare for the culture shock,” said George. “We all had
vast knowledge about the genocide and learned about the current political situation
in Rwanda but there's no way you can prepare for the emotional aspect of the trip.”

The two-week trip focused on some of the violence in Rwanda's history by visiting
the National Genocide Memorial in Kilgari and the Nyamata and Ntarma churches, which
have been turned into memorials for the genocide victims. Rather than focusing only
on this aspect of Rwanda's history, the trip also incorporated cultural experiences
so the students could experience the art and music of the country. A trip to the National
Museum introduced the students to Intore dancing, the traditional dance of Rwanda.

“The dancers wore traditional dress and the warriors wore long straw headdresses that
flowed from their heads,” said George. “There was so much energy and the music was wonderful. At one point there was a drum
line and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. At the end we were
able to dance with them and the music flowed through us.”

Visiting schools and markets helped them to learn more about the day-to-day life of
people in Rwanda. On the first day of the trip they visited a traditional market where
hundreds of vendors sold food, fabrics and crafts. They visited a school for the perpetrators
and victims of genocide, a small village where they were able to learn how to weave
colorful baskets and a coffee plantation to learn how premium coffee is grown and
processed.

“Coffee is a major export of Rwanda so we spent an afternoon at a coffee farm and
coffee washing station,” said George. “We were able to see how positively the coffee
trade affected the village. Being there was important because it helped us see how
much work goes into producing coffee and taught me how people should never complain
how much a cup of coffee costs.”

Sausele said it's these sorts of experiences that help students become global citizens.

“These experiences are crucial for understanding different cultures in our age of
globalization,” said Sausele. “These opportunities shape world view and how we relate
to those who have different values and ways of doing things.”

George agreed that the class helped her feel a sense of global citizenship and served
as a reminder to stay open to new experiences.

“This trip was life changing for me. I look at things so differently now. I have so
much while some people have so little and yet in many ways they live better than I
do. This trip motivated me to do good in this world.”

To learn more about this course, please visit the Study Abroad section of the website to learn more about Webster's short-term study abroad programs.

To learn more about Webster's Institute for Human Rights & Humanitarian Studies, please
visit their website.

All photos were taken by Elizabeth Sausele and are used with her permission.